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News out today reports the UK is sitting on £125 million of unclaimed scratch cards prizes! Financial website THISISMONEY broke the depressing news on the 10th August this year.

The unclaimed amount totald three per cent of the entire prize funds available, according to data from the UK National Lottery operator Camelot. The figures cover the period from 2018/19, ending in March 2019. The percentage of unclaimed money is up 2% from the previous year.

The surprising stat from the figures released by Camelot is the number of scratch cards left unclaimed in London. The capital city is accountable for HALF the unclaimed cards! You guys really have too much money, if you can't be bothered collecting those winnings!

Although, London isn't the only part of the country which is forgetful when it comes to redeeming winning cards. East Lothian in Scotland is just one of six areas outside the capital where £1 million in jackpots is still waiting to be dished out by the National Lottery.

It goes without saying that many of the outstanding prizes are probably in the region of £2 – £10. Like most people, I throw my winning tickets in the car with the notion of collecting the money when filling up on petrol. Only to forget and rediscover the card six months later when hoovering out the glovebox! Unfortunately, by then the damn thing has expired! Yes, scratch cards can go out of date.

It's worth noting that Camelot only publicises prizes over £50,000 that aren't claimed. Don't expect them to run a Nationwide press campaign for your £2 win on Monopoly scratch! There is one positive for those who forget to claim a prize. The money will find a good home as Camelot donates unclaimed prizes to local charities and good causes. Next time you see a gold plated playground, just think, your winning scratch card might have funded that!

One lucky punter who didn't forget to claim his jackpot is Andrew Hancock. Andrew, 46 who lives in Nottinghamshire scooped £1 million quid on the Monopoly Millionaire card! What makes Andrews story more remarkable is the nature of his win. After completing a weekly run to the supermarket, Andrew realised he'd forgotten to buy his cat food for his moggy ‘Shortcake'. Dashing to his local petrol station for a tin of whiskers, Andrew picked up the scratch card as he left. Incredibly, it turned out to be a £1 million jackpot-winning card. Mr Hancock said Shortcake would now “absolutely” be getting an upgrade on his cat food.

A budding artist has created a collection of artwork using discarded scratch cards. Teenager James Owen Thomas uses old scratch cards to make his stunning collages.

The 18-year-old is displaying his creations at the Durham's World Heritage Site Visitor Centre during July. Visitors can expect to see glorious collages of Catherdrals, Animals and Landscapes.

The teenage artist said “Four years ago, I came across a discarded scratch card floating in a puddle of water,”

“I then began to see how scratch cards were littering our streets and parks and thought I have to do something about this, so started picking them up.” James decided to use his artistic skills to recycle the cards creatively. He said: “Many people mistake the art for paintings so when they get in close they can’t believe they are scratchcards.

James’ favourite piece is a picture of Ripon Cathedral; it took him 30 hours to complete. You can see it here.

He added: “One of my tutors knew how many cards I have collected but because they had already been used and I was underage, I never actually scratched any.

“For my 16th birthday, my tutor got me a £1 scratchcard which I could actually scratch, which was very thoughtful.

“I couldn’t believe it when I scratched it and it was actually a £100 winner, it is the only time I have ever had a big win like that.

You can view more of Jame's artwork on this personal website, www.jamesowenthomas.com. Recently he has been asked to create four colleges for Pontefract racecourse. The commission will be used in their marketing literature and will be made out of old badges and tickets from the racetrack.

The first thing to say about scratch cards is that overall they are a game of luck; this does not mean that you cannot increase your chances of winning by following a few simple tips. There are generally two main aims when it comes to playing scratch cards; to have fun and to come out on top. You can increase your chances of doing both if you are sensible and you play intelligently.

We are going to examine some of the things that you should think about when you are purchasing scratch cards. These things are very important because the way you buy scratch cards and the amount of money you spend both help to determine your success rate.

Know your budget and stick to it
One of the most important considerations when it comes to playing scratch cards is to know how much money you can afford to spend and to stick within budget. You should not be tempted to use money put aside for other living expenses. Spending within budget helps to increase your chances of making a profit at the end of the day.

Save and buy in bulk
It may be tempting to just pop into a store and buy an odd scratch card. As we said earlier, scratch cards are games of chance so you do stand a chance of winning if you do this. That being said, the odds of you winning are increased if you save up the money you want to spend and buy scratch cards in bulk once a month. If you are going to play online then it’s useful to read as much information about the buying of the scratch cards as you can. You want to be assured of your security playing scratch cards online and it may also interest you to know that you can play free scratch cards online.

Stick to playing the same game
There are so many scratch cards available that it can be difficult to choose one type to play. For this reason, many people decide to try different types. People also think that diversification improves their chance of winning ; in fact the opposite is true. If you think about it this makes sense. If you stand a 1 in 4 chance of winning on a scratch card then the more cards of that same type you buy the more chance you have of winning. This is why it makes sense to stick to playing the same game.

Choose scratch cards that have odds of 1 in 4 or better
Obviously, you want to give yourself the best chance of winning when you buy scratch cards. This is why you should purchase cards that come with a 1 in 4 chance of winning or greater. You can find the odds of winning printed on the back of the scratch card so you should always take a look before buying.
Scratch cards are a game of chance and you can obviously never guarantee that you will achieve a win when you buy one. The best you can hope for is increasing your chances as much as possible. Hopefully the tips new have provided in this article will help you to do just that.

Judith Cairns has been hitting the headlines of late as a scratch card thief. She is from Gateshead and worked in 2 stores – where it was uncovered that she was stealing scratch cards in both of them! Not just a couple – she pocketed thousands of them in the hope they would provide her with a big win! Originally it was claimed that Cairns had taken scratchies to the value of £44,000 however due to insufficient evidence in proving which ones she could have actually purchased and which ones she had taken without permission meant that the prosecutors didn’t really have any other option than to accept her story.

This means that her sentence was based on her taking only £2,000 worth of cards and claiming the winnings of £500. Mark Giuliani spoke to the Newcastle Crown Court and stated the following:
“The exact number of scratch cards cannot be quantified but she accepts there were about £2,000 of them. It’s impossible to work out which cards had gone and been sold etc. She said she had winnings of £500. That’s less than Camelot would expect, they said the winnings would be 60 to 70% of the value of the cards. She may have won a million pounds, who knows.”

The thought that she could have gotten away with such a large crime has caused a bit of an upset – but with the lack of evidence there is nothing else that could be done. Judith Cairns is 32 years old and worked in the Lifestyle Shop and Ivan’s Premier Shop which are both situated on Consort Road in Gateshead. She committed the offence last year and has plead guilty to theft of 4 counts.

Her sentence was community service – where she needs to undertake 100 hours of work which of course be unpaid. Her defender Nick Lane had stated that she had a child and had some financial problems at the time and that she of course feels bad about what she has done. He also revealed that she wasn’t in the best relationship at the time which only added to her worries. She now of course is no longer working in those stores but is working 4 hours a week and searching for more work.

http://www.metazone.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/JudithCairns.png333500Scratchiehttp://www.metazone.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/logo-scratch-cards-metazone.pngScratchie2013-11-21 09:30:442017-04-26 08:44:12Scratchie Thief Could Have Won A Million!

A very surprising new story is currently doing the rounds in Andalusia. It seems that international investment impresario Donald Trump has been indirectly drawn into a scratch card scam on the island. Scammers have been fooling residents living in an area of Andalusia into believing that Donald Trump was giving out cash locally. The incident has prompted the Andalusia Police to nationally warn the population. Police have urged the general to bear in mind the old adage which warns against things being too good to be true.

Win $85k in the Donald Trump Sweepstakes…
People targeted in the scam have been receiving phone calls from a man who introduces himself as Christopher Jackson. The fictional Mr Jackson then informs the victim that they have won $85,000 in the Donald Trump Sweepstakes. Next, Mr Jackson would follow by asking whether they had any interest in claiming their winnings, to which the predictable response would be in the affirmative. Now, it is the next step that would really arouse questions in the more suspicious beings among us. The victim is then told to visit a local pharmacy with instructions to pay $205 for a $200 Green Dot Money Pack Scratch Card.

$205 for a $200 Scratch Card…
Victims are specifically told that they have to pay $205 for a scratchcard which says $200 on it. The players then communicate with the scammer again to receive further instructions on what to do next. It is at this point that the players are provided with an address to send their scratch card to, or alternatively the scratch card number. Alarmingly, this scam was not even conducted by an Andalusia native. It was instead operated by foreign criminals who have decided to target the island, making it next to impossible to track them down and deliver justice.

Police Warn against Falling for Scam
The police in Andalusia have expressly warned the public not to fall for the scam, explaining mere that they will be out of pocket by $205. It may seem entirely obvious not to fall for such a scam, but there are at-risk individuals out there. The scammers gave them assurances by quoting Donald Trump’s name alongside global businesses such as Wal-Mart, Fed-EX and CVS. Police are taking the opportunity to educate the people of Andalusia about foolishness. The ‘if it looks to good to be true’ message will likely be the most used adage in Andalusia in 2013. For a selection of great online scratch card sites check out this page.

Maria Carreira was struck with delight when she found out she had got lucky and won a massive prize of $40,000 Canadian dollars (worth about £26,000). The woman rushed home to share the news with her family before finding out that she hadn’t read the ticket correctly. Excitement levels skyrocketed when she realised the true value of her ticket – $40 million.

Where some winners like this would instantly go all out and celebrate in style, Carreira chose a more modest approach by treating her family to an all-you-can-eat buffet at a Mandarin restaurant. She did, however, start to splash out once the initial excitement had settled.

This is not an isolated event in the lottery and scratch card world. In December 2013, a man from New Hampshire in accidentally won £1.3 million after the cashier gave him a wrong ticket. Scott Bennett, 48, went in with the intention of buying one ticket for the Tri-State Megabucks lottery and one for the Lucky for Life Lottery. The shop assistant accidentally handed him 2 Megabucks tickets, one of which turned out to be the winner.

Feeling lucky yet? If you are then try the scratch card games at Jackpot Joy – free to join, cash matched first deposit and the chance to win big.

Scratch Card Woes

But luck is not always on your side. In 2009, Ontario’s gaming authority printed 1,100 winning scratch cards by mistake, none of which were meant to win. One player couldn’t believe his luck when he purchased 4 scratch cards to find out that all of them had won. When he totalled up his winnings, he thought he had bagged £135,000. But because of the mistake, he didn’t see a cent.

Then there was the bizarre story of the homeless man from Bloomington, Illinois, who struck it lucky on a scratch card. Dennis Mahurin has been living in rough conditions for 30 years, being housed in a tent in the woods. But despite his $50,000 win, the 58-year-old is planning to continue living where he has been. He insists he is “as happy as can be” and that this style of living is in his nature.

He is planning on splashing out somewhat though, on a new tent. He also plans to get some long-overdue dental work and visit his son. The rest of the money will be put into saving in an investment for his later life. The man joked that he had put some cash aside for his “new friends” the money would bring.

There is no denying that the online environment is steadily becoming even more popular than traditional printed forms of media, but after Camelot’s recent blunder, it is possible that printed scratch cards could very soon become a thing of the past – making way for the online scratch card to reign victorious.

Camelot is the UK’s most popular distributor of scratch cards considering their affiliation with the National Lottery; however a watermark error found in a batch of 17 million scratchcards has caused false hope amongst players.

Esme Arbouse, from North London, was one of the unlucky few who purchased a scratch card from the batch. After revealing what she thought to be a number eight on the scratchcard, the watermark later revealed it to be a three instead. Esme’s initial excitement, thinking she had won £80,000 was crushed when she found out that her winnings only amounted to £2.00. Esme had been planning on giving a large chunk of the cash she thought she had won to charity.

“We had already thought about it,” she added. “We wanted to give at least £15,000 to children's homes.

“I sent a picture of the card to my son and he said ‘wow mum, you've got to send it off'.”

Esme and husband Tim, of Ruislip, North West London, were bitterly disappointed when they were told they had not won.

“I will be retiring in November and this would have been absolutely fantastic,” Esme said.

“I work on contract, so I won't be getting a pension from work.

“With the money I could have happily retired knowing we had some money in the bank. It would have been completely amazing to win.”

Camelot has been approached by 24 other potential winners, all of whom have had to be informed about the watermark. A spokesman for Camelot stated that they are in the process of speaking with the manufacturers of the scratchcards, in order to minimise the risk of this happening again.

Online scratch cards can be met with scepticism, as many believe that the whole process is rigged. Having a scratch card that you can hold in your hand proves that hidden symbols or numbers cannot be altered at the last second – or at least it used to. With faith being shaken in the printed scratch card, perhaps many will begin turning to the online counterpart considering any winning combination uncovered cannot be faltered. Only time will tell if this recent revelation will have an adverse effect on how the public perceive the traditional printed scratchcard, especially when there will always be a possibility of it happening again. So why not try out some great online scratch cards today at Jackpot Joy, a name trusted by millions!

There are many people in the world who believe that gambling, in all its forms, is a con. They think that casinos are out to steal your money and online scratchcards and bingo are all fixed because the house always wins. However, one young mother has proved this accusation to be very false indeed.

Katie Bryant, 21, from Burnley recently won a huge sum of money of a national lottery scratchcard, which has subsequently changed her life. While doing her weekly shop, Katie purchased two scratchcards from her local ASDA. The first came up blank, however the second revealed a massive win of £250,000. The exciting Katie couldn’t believe her luck, “I scratched the first one and there was nothing on it, she said. “I was standing next to my car as my mum loaded the shopping into the boot and I scratched the second card.

“I just could not believe what I was seeing.

“I turned to my mum and said ‘Is this right?’.

“We just continued to pack the shopping into the car and then thought we better go back into Asda to check. I asked the shop assistant to check the card and I was expecting her to say there was a mistake.

“I just could not believe it. It seemed like a dream.

“I had walked into Asda needing to watch every penny I spent and I walked out having won a quarter of a million pounds – things like this only ever happen to other people.”

Katie is a mother of two and this win couldn’t have come at a better time for the struggling parent, as she had been finding it difficult to cope financially. Her visit to the local ASDA superstore that day had come at price, considering she had overspent on her budget by £10. However, she came out quid’s-in, thanks to the National Lottery scratchcard which has since changed her life.

Katie is now planning on buying her first home, complete with a garden for the kids to play in, as well as using some of her winnings to learn how to drive and buy a car. Life is definitely on the up and Katie has shown us that anyone is capable to being lucky enough to scoop a huge jackpot. But in order to even be in with a chance, they have to be in it to win it.

Buying scratch cards over the counter is all very well, but the best scratch card experience is online as you have so much more to choose between, you can set the prices yourself, collect a great cash match welcome bonus and play without having to leave the comfort of your own home! Jackpot Joy have a great selection of scratch cards that tick all the boxes, you can also play bingo and slot machines there so why not give online scratch cards a go today!

If you enjoy playing scratch cards bought from your local news agents you may not have considered playing the online versions. But online scratch cards offer the same fun and excitement as traditional cards with several extra benefits, not least the fact that you can play them from home, on your mobile or even a sneaky game or two whilst at work.

Out of the many reasons to choose online scratch cards, the first is the vast variety in games and playing techniques. Choose from hundreds of different games that can either follow the simple format of scratching panels and revealing matching symbols to win to the more complicated, but great fun games that involve skill or extra bonus game play. You will find that each card has superb artwork and animation that increase the entertainment value over regular scratch cards.

Second is the price, with the majority of online scratch cards you can choose how much you wish to play for, with some starting at as little as 1p and for the bigger wins as much as £10 or £20. So you can play your favourite games at a cost that suits you, something your local newsagent just can’t offer!

The last major reason to choose online scratch cards are the bonus deals available to claim. Almost all online scratch card and gaming sites offer fantastic sign up bonuses available to new players, a couple of these are the no deposit bonus in which sites will give you an amount such as £5 or more to play their games where you could win money without spending a penny or the cash match sign up bonuses in which sites will match your first deposit with an equal amount, effectively doubling the amount you play with. Online scratch card sites also offer regular new promotions, deals and offers that really boost your playing potential.

So, along with great variety, excellent game play and a choice of price there is also the fact that jackpots available are as good if not better than many of the scratch cards that you can buy over the counter. There is also a great range of other games available to play on online scratch card sites such as casino style games and many many fruit machines and instant win games. So why not give online scratch cards a go today and see why so many others choose to do so!

Choosing Where To Play Online Scratch Cards

It can be difficult to choose where to play when you first search for online scratch card sites so we have done the searching for you. We have played them all and pieced together reviews on the best along with regular updates on the latest offers available. So check out the rest of this site to see which site will have what you want from online scratch card game play and free bonus cash deals.

Are you a Mexican or a Mexican't? If the answer is Mexican then The Jalapeno Racers from Jackpot Joy is the game for You! Boasting a top payout of £8000 the Jalapeno Racers scratch card is like having a Piñata Party in your living room.

The aim of the scratch card is to win FREE SPINS which you can then redeem to use on the Jalapeno Racers slot machine. You can win up to a maximum of 4000 spins.

First you get to pick your cash stake size, this is a nice feature as not everyone wants to play for big money. To start the mayhem you just need to click the play button. You'll see your on screen mouse pointer turn into a Piñata stick that you can use to smash up the Piñatas. Hit them a few times to release those free spins, if you're lucky the onscreen thermometer will start to rise, showing you how many free spins you've just bagged.

At the end of each round you'll be asked how you'd like to take your winnings as cash or convert them in FREE SLOT spins, personally I always convert my winnings into free spins. Not only does this give you a bigger chance of winning more wonga but it also extents the game play, giving you more excitement for the same amount of money.

It'w worth noting that the top prize on Jalapeno Racers Slot is a mighty x 1,000! All spins will be played at 1p a line on all 80 lines.

Fancy trying your luck on the Jalapeno Racers scratch card? Just visit Jackpot Joy, new players can take advantage of their fantastic promotional offer… deposit £10 and Jackpot Joy will give you £30 to play with. Jalapeno Racers isn't the only scratch card Jackpot Joy has to offer, you can choose from Deal Or No Deal, The Scratch Card Shop, Alice In Wonderland, Red Or Black and the ever popular Bejewled scratch cards.

Would you like to have a go at one of the most enjoyable fruit machines online? If so, then you need to visit MegaMoneyGames straight away. Once you’re there, search for Fruit Madness. The name doesn’t lie. This online scratch card game truly is madness. However, it’s not madness in a confusing way; it’s madness in regards to wackiness.

Don’t worry; wackiness is a great characteristic for an online scratch card game because it keeps things interesting. When you first see this game, you will see cherries, oranges, pineapples, bananas, apples and more. These aren’t your ordinary fruits, though. They’re tastier. They might not be tastier in a literal sense; they’re not delivered straight from the Caribbean and you can reach through your computer screen and taste them. However, they are tastier when it comes to prizes.

When most people read the word “prizes,” they often think about a gold star or a goldfish won at a carnival. The prizes given out on Fruit Madness at MegaMoneyGames are much different. For example, you can win as much as $100,000. That’s right; one scratch card game could change your life forever. If you don’t win the big jackpot, someone else will. That’s a guarantee. Don’t be the type of person who says “It could have been me.” That’s not a good feeling, and it’s better to risk and lose than to not risk at all.

The object of Fruit Madness is the match three fruits. All you have to do is scratch off the nine silver squares. After you place your bet, you will see the win potential on the fruit. For example, a banana might be x1 and an orange might be x300. The numbers go even higher, much higher.

You can find 21 scratch card games at MegaMoneyGames, and they all pay out big money.